You hold the 7 keys to my soul
by kabuu
Summary: RM.. They don't know each other and are just meeting. Nothing that has happened in the show has happened here. Just R&R please
1. Chapter 1

"_**You hold the 7 keys to my soul"**_

Chapter 1

"You've gotta get some help," His mom told him, lying in the hospital bed, after having nearly lost him. "I know it's been hard since your father…" She started but she couldn't finish that sentence. "… and I know he wouldn't want you to be like this. To live like this…" A few tears started falling from her eyes.

"Like I couldn't care less what he would want be to be like. It's not like he cared anyway…" He told her, and when she was about to say something he cut her off. "And don't say that it isn't true. If it wasn't, then why would he… why did he…" He couldn't finish that sentence either like his mother couldn't earlier. "He didn't even explain why," He was having difficulty saying this. "I mean, we had a great morning, and it had been the greatest day of my life actually. I was about to tell him these big news when I…" He again stopped. "And he had to do it on my birthday, didn't he? He couldn't at least wait one day…" That's when he couldn't hold it in anymore. He let a tear fall down his cheek. Sure, it was only a tear but he hadn't gotten emotional about it at all. Only angry. "So don't you dare tell me what he would want me to be like, or not to be like for that matter"

"What big news?" She asked him, but immediately regretting it.

He just looked at her. He was too tired to get angry. It was the only thing he had been doing for months now. Instead of shouting at her, like she thought he would be doing, he instead, in a soft, tired voice told her, "It doesn't matter anymore"

She smiled at him, more tears falling from her eyes. The boy she was looking at now was the boy she had known a year ago. "But can you do it for me?" She asked him with pleading eyes. "Get some help I mean" He was about to protest, but now it was her turn to cut him off. "I was so scared about losing you… and I want to do all I can to not go through that again. I want us to be like we were…" She held her out for him to take it. "Will you help me?"

He looked down at her hand and then again in her eyes. To be frank, the last year had been hell, and he was sick of it. Truthfully, he wanted to change, but he hadn't known any reason to do it… until now. He took her hand in his and smiled at her. "Yeah… thank you"

The tears were now rolling down her face. That wasn't really anything new since she cried herself to sleep every night, but those tears weren't the same tears, the tears of sadness or fright ness. Those were tears of joy. "No… thank you," She told him. And with that she noticed him letting out a small yawn. It had been a long day for both of them so she took that as a queue and went home, leaving him in that small hospital room to rest.

* * *

His mom had come in around noon the next day, but as he hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and thinking he needed the rest, she left the clean clothes she brought with her and started walking out of the room.

As she was just reaching the door he began to stir. She looked back and saw that he was now awake. "Sorry… didn't mean to wake you" She said.

"You didn't," He assured her. "I feel like I've been sleeping all day. What's the time?" He asked her.

"It just passed noon" She answered, "The doctor said you could go home today. Well, he's gonna check in with you before but he said if everything's great you can go"

"Okay… Can't wait to get home. I'm already sick of this place"

"You're not going home," His mother told him. As he was about to say something she continued: "I called your grandmother this morning and I… we agreed that you needed to get out of town for a while… so you'll be living with your grandmother for a while"

He was literally speechless. He didn't know what to say, what she was saying. _"What is she saying? Has she given up on me? Is she kicking me out?"_ Those thoughts were running through his mind and he didn't know what to think. Or what to say for that matter.

His mother took the opportunity that he wasn't speaking to continue. "She… your grandmother… she uh… She knows this woman… this therapist. She's supposed to be great. Anyway... You've got an appointment with her tomorrow afternoon and your bus leaves at 6… today" She said as a few tears were falling freely from her eyes. She knew she was doing the right thing but why did she feel like she was just making things worse?

After a few moments of silence he was the one to break it. "So, you're shipping me off to grandmas" He stated. His words weren't harsh, rather emotionless, but his eyes were full of sadness and, truthfully, she'd rather have him scream at her than seeing him so vulnerable. When she was about to say something he continued: "No, I understand. Why wouldn't you get rid off me? Dad did" He paused for a moment, "But if you wouldn't mind leaving, I'm kind of tired so I'm gonna rest until the doctor gives me the permission to go." She was about to say something but he cut her off, this time his words were harsh, "I said leave, now"

* * *

After the doctor had come in and given him the permission to leave he had left the building, quietly, not wanting his mother, who was sat in the waiting room, to spot him. He had gone home first, taking the opportunity when his mother wouldn't be home, packed some clothes and things in his bag, everything he thought he'd need. While he was rummaging through the house, he spotted a bus ticket on the kitchen counter. He picked it up and held it in his hands. He didn't want to go there. He didn't even know his grandmother. But there was something about it. He felt like he was supposed to go there, for some reason beyond him, _"Well, I'll bring the ticket along, just in case I can't find anywhere better to go to"_ He thought to himself.

After he had packed his stuff, he took the bag and walked out of the house. Deciding he was a little hungry he walked to the diner that was there near by, ordered himself something to eat, then walking to the nearest phone booth he found, making some calls. After having made a few calls, asking to stay the night, and having been refused by them all, he picked up the ticket. Deciding it was his only place to go he left the booth and started walking to the bus station. He was going to the place where his dad had grown up, for the first time in over a year, and for the first time without having his father there with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

He had arrived at his destination about half hour ago. His grandmother had picked him up at the bus station and, although he claimed he'd just eaten and wasn't hungry, she insisted she'd buy him something to eat, even if it was just one little ice cream.

They stopped at a small diner in her neighbourhood and, after convincing his grandmother that he could go in alone, he went into the diner. He walked up to the counter and was looking through the menu when the waitress came up to him.

"What can I get you?" The dark-haired girl asked him.

"Uhm… I'll have one hamburger and… some french fries… with coke" He said, his eyes still focused on the menu in front of him.

"Coke… we'd probably go to jail if we had coke here" The girl joked.

"Oh, I must be at the wrong place then" He shot back. He looked up at the girl and smiled at her. She was cute, had dark-brown hair and blue eyes.

"Yep, you must be" She said, smiling back at him. She ripped off the order and gave it to the man working in the kitchen. "So… you new here?" She asked him.

"No… just visiting" He told her.

"Well, I've lived here all my life… It can be nice at times but on other times it sucks." She rambled on. "So, were are you from?" She asked, "Oh sorry… I'm so rude. You don't have to answer that. In fact I don't want you to answer that"

"It's okay…" He started when he was cut off by the waitress.

"No. I always ask such personal questions. I mean, I just met you two minutes ago." She said

"I had a friend back home who used to ask people we didn't know all kinds of personal questions… so I'm kind of used to it by now" He told her.

"You had? Did you break up with him or something?" She joked.

"Uhm no… she died" He told her sadly.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Why do I keep doing that. And I'm sorry for your friend too"

"Thanks" He said, and with that his grandmother came up to him.

"I'm sorry dear, I was in the car waiting for you when I suddenly realized that I forgot to give you money for the food" His grandmother told him, picking up her purse.

Ryan looked at her; his face was red as an apple. "It's okay. I've got it"

She looked at him and saw that he had been talking to that girl there and decided to go back to the car. "Well okay dear. I'm going to go back to the car then" She told him and walked off to the car.

The waitress smiled at him. He picked up his wallet and was about to ask her how much it was when she cut him off. "No. It's on the house" He gave her a confused look and she continued: "It's the least I can do after being so rude to you earlier"

"Well… A free meal. Who can argue with that?"

"Certainly not me" She flirted with him.

"Well, maybe I'll run into you sometime and I can arrange you one free meal" He flirted back.

"Yeah I'd like that. Everything for a free meal…" She said, shooting him a smile. She walked into the kitchen as the chef had called her in and reappeared few seconds later with his food. "Here you go" She said, while handing him his food. "So, are you staying long?" She asked him.

He stood up and took the food in his hands. "Haven't decided yet" He said as he started walking off towards his grandmothers car.

"Hey!" She shouted out at him, "I didn't catch your name"

"That's because I didn't throw it" And with that he left her there, with a huge smile appearing on her face.

* * *

After he had left the diner they had gone straight to his grandmother's place. She had shown him his room and he claimed he was really tired and wanted nothing else then to go to sleep. But truthfully, he wasn't anywhere close to being tired. He couldn't stop thinking about what would happen tomorrow. He was going to see his therapist, whom he really didn't want to meet. He didn't want to talk to some stranger about his life. Therapists get paid to listen to people ramble on about how much their life sucks. Honestly, how can she help him? She probably won't even listen, or care for that matter.

He thought about that girl in the diner too. He had just met her but somehow he felt like he had known her for an eternity. He wasn't one for the talking but, for some reason unknown to him, he found it so easy to talk to her. He wondered if he'd ever meet her again. He hoped he would but, if he wouldn't, he could always just go to that diner she worked at. Or would that seem too desperate? No, why would it? He's just going to eat there, why would that seem desperate?

After hours of thinking he finally let himself fall asleep, completely obvious as to what was about to happen the following day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was one o'clock in the afternoon and he was still sound asleep in his 'new room'. His therapy appointment was at two so his grandmother decided to wake him up.

"Wake up, dear" She said to him, while shaking him gently. "It's one o'clock… your appointment is in an hour. Don't you want to shower and eat before you go?" He began to stir and mumbled something she couldn't figure out. "What was that, dear?"

He opened his eyes and saw that his grandmother was standing over him. He sat up immediately and grabbed a t-shirt that was lying besides his bed. "What's the time?" He asked her.

"It's one in the afternoon… and your appointment is in less then an hour" She told him.

"_Appointment? I have an appointment? What kind of appointment?" _He thought to himself when he suddenly remembered. Therapy. "Great" he mumbled. "I'm gonna take a shower" He told her. She just nodded and left his room. He started collecting the clean clothes he had brought with him and walked into the bathroom, which was at the other end of the hallway.

Emerging from the bathroom 10 minutes later he was on his way to the kitchen to get something to eat when he saw his grandmother walking towards him. "I've fixed you some breakfast, dear. It's on the table, ready to be eaten"

He just rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen with her on his heals. On the table she had made 5 kinds of waffles, eggs, bacon and toast along with fruit and vegetables. And yeah, she had poured him some orange juice too. "You, uh, expecting someone?" He asked, not knowing why she had made that much food.

"No, not that I know of" She told him. "And I didn't really know what you'd like for lunch so at least now you have more to choose from"

"Uhm, thanks… But I eat almost everything so you don't have to go to so much trouble just for me" He said, while sitting down by the table, collecting some food on his plate.

"Nonsense" She assured him, "I enjoy cooking. And since I only live alone here I only get to cook for myself so be prepared to have a lot of home cooked meals while you stay here. And besides, it's not like an old lady like myself has anything better to do with their time"

"Well… don't you have a Newpsie convention or something?" He asked her

"Are you calling me a Newpsie?" She joked, but said it offensively though.

"Uhm… no?" He stated, more as a question then a fact. "I don't even know what a Newpsie is. Dad just always used to say it…" And with his last sentence he went quiet. That was the first time in over a year he had talked about his father without getting angry or raising his voice. Now there was even a hint of sadness in his voice. Although how he had left him, and how much he hated him for that, he did, in a strange way, miss him. But he wouldn't admit that to anyone.

But his grandmother had seen the sadness in his eyes when he had brought up his dad. She had, briefly, been informed on how he had reacted to the incident with his father but, seeing him now, she knew he was just a lost teenage boy who couldn't handle it all at once. "Yeah don't worry, I was just kidding you… But thinking about it, I guess I am a Newpsie… but I'd like to think I'm not as bad off like some of them are" She said, shooting him a smile.

He smiled back at her and went to finish his food.

* * *

After his lunch, his grandmother had taken him to therapy. He had assured her that he could walk there but, realizing he didn't know where it was, he finally agreed on letting her driving him.

"You want me to pick you up after your session?" She had asked him when they had arrived.

"Nah… I think I can manage" He told her.

"You sure? 'Cause I could always-" She started when he cut him off.

"Yeah, I want to walk" He assured her.

"That's fine, dear. See you when you get home then" She said as he started getting out of the car.

"Yeah, bye" He said as he made his way to the therapist's office.

As he got in the office, he stopped in front of the elevator. _"Should I take the stairs or the elevator?"_ He thought to himself. After moments having thought about it he decided to take the stairs. That way he would have more time to think about what he would be getting himself into. And, well… he was afraid of heights and elevators didn't help much with that.

As he reached the 3rd floor he remained still in front of the door for a few second but then decided to go in. He looked around the room, briefly. There was only one other person in there, a dark-haired girl around his age. She was sitting in a chair, listening to her iPod and looking through some magazine. He went in and sat down in the nearest chair he could find. He sat there still for a moment and then stood up again and began walking rapidly through the room until he finally decided to leave. He opened the door and was about to go when a voice cut him off. "Are you bailing already?" He looked back and saw that the voice belonged to the dark-haired girl he had seen in the diner the previous day.

"Yeah well… it wasn't my idea to go here" He told her

"Same here" She told him, "Can I bail with you? I could show you around Newport and you can give me that free meal you promised me"

He laughed slightly "Sure" He said, "I'm Ryan by the way"

The girl nodded and said, "Marissa"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They had been driving around in Marissa's car for a while; she had showed around Newport, like the school and the pier, along with some of her personal favourite places. After about 2 hours of driving around she had finally showed him all the things there was to see, literally. "Okay, so I think I've showed you all there is to see in Newport" Marissa told Ryan.

"Yeah… so if I want to stop by your school, or maybe go to church I wouldn't be in any trouble finding it, right?" He joked.

"What? I just showed you everything I could think of" She said, defensively. _"And I just wanted to spend more time with you"_ She added silently. "But speaking of school, will you be going to Harbor?" She asked him, hoping for a positive answer.

"No… I don't live here. I'm just visiting my grandmother" He told her.

"Oh yeah… Anna Atwood, right?"

He gave her a confused look, "How did you know that?" He asked her.

"Last night, at the diner," She said, but he still didn't get it. "she came in with money for you…" And with that realization formed in his mind and he blushed slightly. "She's friends of my grandmother's. I've seen her around a couple of times when I visit her"

"Right" He said. _"If she knows my grandmother then how come didn't my grandmother know her yesterday?"_ He asked himself silently.

"So, how long will you be staying here?" She asked

"I, uh… don't actually know" He said. He hadn't really thought about how long he would be staying, he had hoped it would only be couple of weeks at the most but maybe staying here wouldn't be that bad.

She shot him a smile and decided to change the topic. "So… what do you say about some music?" She asked him

"If you want to"

"Okay" She turned on the radio and on came Aqualung's '7 keys'. "Oh, I love that song." She turned the volume up a bit and began singing along "_Darling believe… You're closer than anyone has even been. Oh baby don't leave me alone, I'm yours for eternity… You hold the seven keys to my soul_"

He slightly laughed at the dark-haired girl beside him.

Marissa caught him laughing at her and stopped singing. "What, am I that bad?" She asked him.

"No. You just remind me of someone I used to know" He said, with a slight more sad expression on his face.

She caught onto his expression. "Your friend that died?" She guessed.

"Yeah… she always used to sing along with the songs like you were doing, and she talks a lot too…"

"What? I don't talk a lot" She said, defensively

"Yeah… whatever you say" He said as she just smiled at him. "And she also had dark hair like you do" He added

"Well, I don't really have dark hair… Well I do but it's not my normal colour…" She said. "It is actually kind of funny how it happened."

"What, were you eating chocolate and did you get some on your hair?" He joked

"Funny… hehe" She said, and giving him a fake laugh. "No. Me and my friend had been drinking and well one thing led to another and when I woke up the next morning I just went into the kitchen and my mom basically screamed at me. Something like 'How could you do that? You had so beautiful hair' and of course I didn't understand what she was screaming about until I finally looked into a mirror." She said, laughing slightly. "She ordered me to go and colour it back to like how it was… but that just made me want to keep it like it is much more"

He laughed slightly. "Well, that's quite the story"

"Oh, that's nothing. I basically do everything that my mom doesn't want me doing… like the job at the diner. She hates that I'm actually working"

"So that explains it" He thought out loud. She gave him a confused look. "Oh sorry… I thought I was only thinking it… but I found it weird that you had such expensive car and were working at that diner"

"Yeah well I didn't really want such expensive car but I needed one and my mom would only buy one that was at least that expensive… She's gotta look good, you know" She said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm definitely not in Chino anymore"

"Well, I've never been in Chino before, but I guess not" She said. "Do you have somewhere to be?" She asked.

"No… why?" He asked

"Oh, you know… the free food you promised me. And I heard they were showing old Jim Carrey movies in the movie theatre… you interested?" She said, giving him a warm smile.

"Definitely"


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry, I wrote that in a rush. It's not that good in my opinion, but here is it anyway...

* * *

Chapter 5 

After seeing a classic Jim Carrey movie, Dumb and Dumber, Marissa complained on being hungry and wanted that free meal Ryan had promised her. He, of course, agreed and even let her pick the place. It didn't take her long to decide where to go to: The Diner.

"Of all the places you could pick from, you pick the one where you work?" He asked, surprise at her choice of place.

"What? You said I could pick the place," She told him, innocently. "and besides… I really like the food here" She added.

"Okay then" He said as they stepped out of the car and walked into the diner.

"Hey Marissa… isn't it your night off?" A waitress asked her. She was slightly older than Marissa, had blonde hair and was rather thin, not too thin though.

"Yeah, it is. I'm actually a costumer tonight, Claire." She told the waitress, shooting her a smile.

"Oh… so you want me to serve you tonight, huh?" Claire joked.

"Yeah… I guess so" She said with a smile. "I mean, after being promised a free meal," She said, looking towards Ryan, "where else would I go?"

Claire looked at Ryan. _"Damn, he's hot"_ She thought. "Well, you've always been kind of weird so I guess you going to the place you work on a date is not that unbelievable…" She trailed off. When Marissa was about to say something she added: "Hey, can you come with me a bit?"

"Uhm… sure" She said, "I'll be back in a minute… Just sit down somewhere" She told Ryan as she went in the back with Claire.

"He's hot!" Claire exclaimed when they had gotten out of Ryan's earshot "Where did you find him. He doesn't look like he's from around here"

"You remember Anna Atwood?" She asked and Claire just nodded. "Well, she's his grandmother. I actually just met him yesterday, here. And then I ran into him again earlier today… showed him around Newport…" She trailed off as Claire cut her off.

"And he asked you out?" She asked excitedly. She had known Marissa years and that was the first time she saw her with a boy since she broke off with Luke. And that was one year ago.

"No… We're just friends. And besides, he'll not be staying that long anyway"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I would find it hard staying just friends with a hot guy like him" She joked

"Claire!" She said, hitting her playfully on her shoulder. "Well, I should get back there… and yeah, I'll have the usual… and he'll have the same" She said and with that she went back to Ryan. "Sorry… she couldn't find the salt" She said, while sitting down at the table.

"Right," He said. "So, what do you want to eat?" He asked her.

"I already ordered" She said as he gave her a confused look. "And yes, I ordered for you too" He was about to say something when she cut him off. "And you'll see what it is when it gets here" She finished, shooting him a smile.

"Okay…" He said warily.

"So… who are you?" She asked him.

"Whoever you want me to be" He joked.

She laughed and hit him playfully on the shoulder… "No, really"

He laughed slightly. "Okay… What do you mean?" He said, giving her a confused glance.

"I don't know…" She said, "Is your grandmother the mother of your mom or dad?" She asked… "Did that make any sense?"

"Yeah… She was my dad's mother. He was actually from Newport. Lived here up until 20 years ago" He told her.

_"Was?"_ She thought to herself. She decided not to ask him more about his dad. _"Too personal"_ She thought. "And your mom, is she from Newport too?" She asked him

"No. She's from Chino" He told her.

"Okay… Do you have any siblings?" She asked again.

"One brother, Trey. Three years older… what about you?"

"I have one sister, Kaitlin. She's 14. My dad's from Newport and my mom's from Riverside… they got divorced last year and, much to my dismay, I ended up living with my mother" She said, and with that their food came to the table.

"Here you go" Claire said, putting the food down on the table. "Have fun kids" She added and mouthed to Marissa: "Call me" while putting her fingers up to her ear, as if she was holding a phone up to her ear.

* * *

About twenty minutes later when they were finished eating they were on their way home.

"I'm gonna make one stop before I drive you home" Marissa told him as she made a stop at the mall.

"What, are we going shopping? 'Cause I don't really shop" Ryan said, not really liking the idea of going shopping.

"No… Just come, I promise you we wont even step foot in a store" She said, taking his hand in his and walking in the mall.

She stopped at a small photo booth and went into it. Ryan remained there outside the booth, confused as to what she was doing. "Come in Ryan" She called out to him. "It has been a great day… and I want a proof that it actually happened so I won't think it was all a dream"

He smiled at her and went in. "Uh… I don't think there's room for us both in there"

"Of course there is. Just come in" She said, moving a bit so he would fit in there with her. "See.. I knew we would fit" She said and with that she clicked the button. Neither of them were even looking in the camera.

All in all they took about 20 photos; in all of them they were either laughing or making funny faces. "Ryan" She laughed. "Let's have at least one photo where we're not laughing or something" She said and laughed slightly…

He smiled at her. "Then stop laughing" He joked.

"Oh sorry… I just haven't had that much fun in a while" He said shooting him a smile. "Okay, ready?" She asked him, with her finger on the button.

"Yep… shoot" He said and with that she pushed the button, both with a huge grin on their faces. Marissa started getting out of the booth when Ryan's voice cut her off. "Wait, one more" He said and she went back in. He went and kissed her cheek, leaving her laughing as he pushed the button.

She looked up at him and smiled at him and started getting out of the booth, paying for the photos and waited for the photos. She looked at Ryan again. "Thanks… for today" She told him.

"Yeah, same here" He told her. "It's been a while since I've actually had fun"

She smiled at him and looked into his eyes. There was something about him, just looking into his eyes she felt like she'd known him for years. She started getting closer to him and took his hand in hers. He looked down at his hand and then up at her. They both got closer and as they started leaning in to a kiss they heard a loud beep from the photo booth. They both sprung apart. "The photos… they're ready" Marissa said, disappointed that the booth had ruined their moment.

"Right" Ryan replied, who was, too, disappointed that their moment was ruined.

"So, I should probably get you home then" She said, awkwardly.

"Yeah" Ryan replied as they left the mall and went home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As Ryan walked into the door at his new, temporary home he was greeted by his grandmother. "Ryan! Dear, where have you been?" She asked him. "It's almost 7 o'clock"

"I was with a friend." He told her.

"Oh, you've made a friend already… what's his name?"

"Her name is Marissa" He told her.

"Well alright dear. So, how was therapy? Isn't she such a nice woman?"

"Huh, who?" He asked her. _"Who was a nice woman? Marissa?"_ He thought to himself.

"Your therapist, Mrs. Cohen" She said, shaking her head slightly.

"Oh right. She's nice" He told her

"That's nice" She told him. "Wait, did I tell you that she called?"

"_Busted"_ He, silently, told himself. "Okay, I didn't go" He said and as she was about to speak he cut her off. "I was going to, but when I was there, in the waiting room, I just couldn't," He trailed off. "but I'll go next week"

"Well, that's good to hear," She said, "but she said you could go tomorrow. Someone cancelled on her so you're going to take their time"

"Fine"

"Alright, now that that's settled… who's Marissa?"

"I met her at the diner yesterday and then I saw her again today at therapy…" He trailed off. "I don't know her last name… but I know that her parents are split, and her mom's originally from Riverside, I think… And she also told me that you were a friend of her grandmothers"

"Jane Cooper's granddaughter?" She asked him. He just shrugged his shoulders. "I thought she looked familiar last night, but I couldn't put my finger on it" She trailed off, smiling. "So, are you guys, what, friends?"

"Yeah… I guess" He said.

"Well, she's a lovely girl. So beautiful, too" She said. "Don't you think so?"

"Yeah, I guess… I don't know." He lied. Of course he thought she was beautiful, how could he not?

"I haven't seen her in years," She told him. "but I know she's been through much… with her parents separating and then the incident down in Mexico…"

"What happened in Mexico?"

"Oh dear. I shouldn't have said anything… I'm sure she'll tell you if she wants you to know" She rambled on. "I don't even know enough about it." She added. Ryan just shook his head.

"I'm gonna go in my room… stare at the wall or something" He told her, starting to walk away.

"But aren't you gonna eat?" She called out to him.

He stopped for a second, turned around and told her: "I already ate" And with that he walked into his room.

* * *

As Marissa had dropped Ryan off at his grandmothers house she drove off to her own house. Going in through the expensive door on the biggest mansion in whole Newport she was met by her mom who had a look of annoyance written on her face.

"Where the hell have you been?" Julie asked her, annoyingly. "And don't even try and lie your way out of it and say you were at therapy 'cause Kirsten called me and apparently you didn't show up for your appointment" She added

"I was with a… friend" Marissa said. He was her friend, right?

"A friend?" Julie said, not believing her. "Marissa, you don't have friends. You haven't had any friends since you swallowed all those pills down in Mexico last year"

"Sure I have friends—" She started when her mother cut her off.

"And don't tell me you were hanging out with that gay boy"

"Unbelievable" She said, rolling her eyes. "And no, I was not hanging out with Seth"

"Anyway… why didn't you go to your therapy appointment?"

"Like I said… I didn't feel like it so I decided to hang out with Ryan instead"

"Yeah, I'm sure you were." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Caleb and I are filing for a divorce" She said, with no sad feeling what so ever.

"Oh, so that's why you're so sad" She sarcastically replied.

"Funny. But we get to keep the house, so you don't have to like pack your things" She said as she started to walk away. Then she got this perfect idea and turned around. "You should invite this Ryan boy over, I have to meet him" She said with a slight grin on her face, thinking he wasn't real.

"Like I would want him to suffer through a visit with you, no thanks" Marissa told her, starting to walk away in the other direction.

"Of course you wouldn't, cause he's not real" Julie said, with an evil grin on her face.

"Fine. I'll call him now and ask him to come over" Marissa said, grinning back at her mother and walking away.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As Marissa went to her room, she got to her phone. She gonna punch in his number when she remembered she didn't know his number. She then went into the hallway where she knew she was going to find a phone book. She opened the drawer where it was hidden and took out the local phonebook. She searched for the name Anna Atwood and when she found it she punched in the numbers beside the name, put the phonebook back to the drawer and went back to her room.

As she was back in her room she sat down on her bed and pressed the call button on her phone and held it to her ear. After about two rings she heard an old woman's voice on the other line.

"Hello?" The voice said.

"Hi Mrs. Atwood" Marissa replied. "It's Marissa Cooper"

"Hi dear. How are you?" Anna asked her.

"I'm good. Great actually."

"That's nice to hear. How's your father?" She had known her father since he was born. Her grandmother and her had been best friends since they were little girls and their boys, Marissa's and Ryan's dads, were best friends growing up so she had was really close to him.

"He's great. He's doing great in his new job. Yeah, he's doing really well." Marissa replied

"Yeah, I heard about his new job. He's working in the Newport Group, right?"

"Yeah he is" She answered. There was a moment of awkward silence after that, neither knowing what to say.

"But I guess you're not here to talk to me, are you?" Anna said.

"Uhm… no. Is Ryan there?" She asked, awkwardly.

"Sure. Let me just go get him" She said as she walked down the hallway to Ryan's room. She knocked lightly on the door.

"It's open" Ryan called out. She opened the door and walked in the room. He was lying on the bed, just starting at the ceiling.

"It's for you" She handed him the phone. He looked at her confused. "It's Marissa" She added.

"Ok" He took the phone out of her hands and waited for her to leave. "Thanks"

"Right… I'll just leave you to it" She said as she started walking away. "Just bring the phone out when you're done" She added as she walked out of the room, closing the door after her.

As his grandmother closed the door he held the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" He said.

"Hi Ryan" She greeted him, quite happily. "It's Marissa"

"Yeah… hi" He said, a smile appearing on his face.

"I didn't know you're number so I just called your grandmother… I found her number in the phonebook"

"I don't have a phone"

"You don't?" She asked surprised, then realizing he was from Chino so it wasn't that unbelievable. "Never mind" She added. "So, are you doing anything?" She awkwardly asked him. She felt kinda weird calling a boy she only met yesterday and ask him over to meet her mother.

"Well, if you call lying in bed, staring at the ceiling doing anything then yeah"

She laughed slightly. "Okay… So do you want to come over?" She asked him. "My mom's really pissing me off…" She trailed off.

"Uhh… okay" He said awkwardly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to"

"No I want to" He assured her, a slight smile on his face. "So uh… where do you live?"

"I'll just pick you up"

"Okay"

"So… see you in five?"

"Yeah… bye"

"Bye" She said as they both hung up their phones.

Ryan stood up of the bed and walked into the living room where his grandmother was. He walked up to her and handed her the phone. "I'm gonna head over to Marissa's" He told her.

"Okay… just don't be long. Do you need me to drive you?" She asked him.

"No… She's picking me up" He said

"Alright dear. Just remember to lock the door when you come back, I'll probably be asleep"

"Sure" He said as he went outside, to the end of the driveway, to wait for Marissa to pick him up.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the awful long wait. School has just started and I have soccer too so my life's pretty busy. But I've only got a few days until soccer cooles down so I should be able to post more now. But here's the next post. Please R&R! And I'll update sooner if I get more reviews :)

* * *

Chapter 8

Marissa had arrived 5 minutes after she had hung up on the phone, just like she had said. On their way to her house they decided to stop for an ice cream so they went to the pier and got two balboa bars. After having finished their ice creams they headed to her house.

"You really live here?" Ryan asked her as they were outside her house.

"Yeah, sadly" She replied. "My mom's husband, or soon to be ex-husband I guess, is like the richest man in Newport" She pointed out.

"Sounds like fun" He said

"It isn't… believe me"

He laughed slightly as they opened the door and went in.

"Marissa, is that you?" Julie called out as she heard the front door open and shut.

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Yes it's me mom" She said as she walked into the living room with Ryan in tow. "Something you need?" She asked.

"No I was just—" She started when she saw a boy standing next to Marissa. A very handsome boy might she add. "Oh I didn't know you had company" She said, shooting them a fake smile.

"Yeah… This is Ryan" She told her mom.

"Oh right, Ryan" She said, confused. _"He's real?"_ She thought, silently. Marissa saw her confused face and smiled at her. "So, are you new here?" She asked him.

"Yeah… or well I'm just staying here temporary" He answered her.

"Why temporary?"

"Ehm… I'm just staying with my grandmother for a while"

"Oh, that's nice" She said, shooting him another fake smile. "What's her name?" She knew most of the old people as she was married to Caleb Nichol and had been introduced to most of them by him.

"Anna Atwood"

"Oh I know her. I didn't know she had a grandson though" She said, and evil grin appearing on her face. She looked at Marissa and gave her a wink.

"What?" Marissa said.

"Come on, let's quit the act right now" Julie said as she laughed slightly. She turned to Ryan. "So who are you really?"

He looked at her confused. "What do you mean?" He asked her.

"What's your real name? And where did you meet my daughter?"

"My name's Ryan Atwood and I met her at the diner last night" He said. She looked bitchy and he thought he'd better not get on her bad side. "And then I met her again at therapy and she showed me around town" He told her, honestly.

She studied him for a minute. _"Was he telling the truth?"_ She thought to herself. He didn't look like he was lying. "Oh well I'm sorry. I just never knew Mrs. Atwood had such a handsome grandson" She said, shooting him a flirty smile.

"Mom!" Marissa said, shooting her mother a glare.

"What, he is" Julie said. Ryan started feeling kind of uncomfortable. She turned back to Ryan and saw how embarrassed he got and smiled. "When I was married to Marissa's father I had to go visit his mother once in a while and I saw your grandmother around there quite often and I've just never seen her with any kids"

"Well I don't live here and when I'd come and visit her I'd always have my dad with me and we'd just be there for the day" He said. When he mentioned his dad he didn't say it with anger, or sadness for that matter. Actually, he didn't have any emotion in him. Marissa caught on to it but decided to let it go.

"So, what is your father's name?" She asked him.

"MOM! Stop asking such personal questions" She said. She shot him a light smile. She figured he wouldn't want to talk about his father. He shot her a thankful smile.

"What? I'm just checking if he's who he says he is. I just happen to know what Anna's son's name is." She smirked at her. If he said the wrong name she's know if he was lying.

"It's okay… the name is Jack Atwood" He said.

She gave him a fake smile. _"So he really is Jack's son? He at least got his good looks." _She thought to herself "Well, I don't know your father much, but he was Jimmy's best friend a long time ago. I remember I always used to have such a crush on him. But don't tell him that"

Ryan just gave her a sarcastic smile.

"Well, is your father in town too?" She asked him.

"No… he's, uh… he died last year" He told her. It was the first time he had talked about his father's death. It wasn't much that he said, but still, he hadn't said another word about it. He'd just ignore it all. He didn't even go to his funeral. But he was tired of being angry.

"Oh right! I remember when Jimmy went to his funeral… he killed himself, right?" She asked, rather not realizing it was the wrong thing to say then trying to be evil.

Ryan froze. He couldn't believe what she had just said. Well, it was true but hearing it being said made his anger boil up again. He didn't say anything, just started back at her. "I've got to go" He said as he walked down the hall and opened the front door and shut the doors after him.

Marissa just stood there still. _"So his dad killed himself?" _She thought to herself. She then woke up from the daze when she heard the door shut and realized he was gone. "You're unbelievable" She spat at her mother as she ran after Ryan. But as she got to her front door Ryan was no where in sight. She started her car and went to look for him.


	9. Chapter 9

This post is kind of long. Probably my longest yet. I didn't get to many reviews but I had this post ready so I decided to post it anyway. Please review... I don't really want to keep writing it if there's no one reading... So everyone, review if you want me to continue... a simple 'Post soon' will do... anyway, here's the post!

* * *

Chapter 9

After about an hour of driving around Newport without finding him she decided to go over to his grandmother's house. She stopped her car in front of the house and waited for about 10 minutes until she finally got the courage to walk up the drive way and knock on the door. A little while later the doors were opened by Anna.

"Marissa!" She exclaimed, shocked by who was at the other side of the door, which made Marissa really nervous.

"Hi, Mrs. Atwood" She said tracing her foot nervously after the pavement she was standing on. "Is Ryan there?" She asked.

She saw how nervous she was and that made her slight nervous too. "I thought he went with you couple of hours ago?"

"Yeah, he did" She said. She put one hand up to the back of her neck and started rubbing it slightly. "He kind of walked out about an hour ago… he had this angry look on his face" She said, looking down.

"What do you mean by he walked out?" Anna started getting worried. "Did something happen?"

She had her head still down. "My mom… She, uh… she started asking him questions about himself… and it appeared that she knew his father and… she… she said some things and he just walked out" She said, close to tears.

"What did she say?" She had heard from Dawn that he hadn't talked about his father since the incident and was worried about what he'd do if he would.

"She asked if his father was with him in town and he said that he was dead…" She said. A few tears started falling from her eyes. "…and then she said that she remembered my father going to his funeral last year… and asked if he hadn't…hadn't... killed himself" She finished. She had difficulty finishing that sentence, 'cause of her slight crying voice.

Anna didn't believe what she just heard. How could a person be that emotionless? She just hoped he was alright and wasn't anywhere far away. She was getting mad… but at Julie not Marissa so she tried to be soft with her, she looked so weak standing there crying. "And you have no idea where he went?" She asked. Marissa just shook her head, not able to speak yet. "Have you tried looking for him?" She asked her.

Marissa nodded. She didn't know why he was in therapy but she guessed it had something to do with his father and was worried what he might have done and that made her scared. "I've been looking for an hour but didn't find him. I thought maybe he'd come here…" She cried.

Anna's heart broke by the sight in front of her. She walked closer to her and wrapped her arms around the fragile girl in front of her. She rubbed her back slightly. "Come on, we'll go look for him again" She told her.

She just nodded. It felt nice being in someone's arms. Although she hardly knew the woman, it felt comforting. She felt close to someone. She hadn't felt like that in a long time. She slowly pulled away from the hug. She started for her own car when she was cut off by the older woman's voice.

"Come one, you'll go with me" Anna told her. "You can't drive in that state"

"I'm fine" She said, drying her eyes with her hands. "It's my fault he ran off and we'll find him earlier if we go separate" She said.

"Marissa, dear, it's not your fault—" She started.

"Yes it is. I should've known my mom would say some mean things and never let her say anything to him. Call me if you find him" She said as she went into her car and drove off. Anna sighed and walked inside to get her coat and car keys and drove off too.

* * *

After driving around for another half hour with no luck she stopped her car in an empty parking lot by the beach.

"Come on now Marissa, think" She told herself. "Where haven't you looked? You've looked at every bar and clubs, the diner and every other restaurant's, the church and the school, I don't really know why I looked there… come on Marissa, you're rambling." She said as she tried thinking of some places she'd yet to go. "If you wanted to get away, where'd you go?" She asked herself as she finally got it. She hadn't looked there and if she wanted to get away she would, without a doubt, go there. She just wondered if he'd go there too? Well, it wouldn't hurt to look.

She got out of her car and locked it and started walking along the beach. She didn't see anyone there and got slightly disappointed but kept on going. She looked in every lifeguard stands and behind every rocks she saw, but nothing. When she only had one stand left she started walking up it, almost sure he wouldn't be there. She was about to sit down on the other side when something caught her eye. She looked down and saw Ryan sitting by the wall, with an empty vodka bottle in hand, staring intensively at the ocean.

"Ryan!" She practically screamed out, happy that she'd finally found him. But then she spotted the empty vodka bottle in his hand.

"Hey" He said to her, completely emotionless.

She decided to not judge him about the vodka bottle. "I've been looking for you for hours" She said. She sat down next to him.

"Sorry" He said, not taking his eyes off the ocean.

"I'm so sorry about my mom… I never knew she would say something like that…" She half-cried.

"No, it's okay… it wasn't your fault…" He said. He looked at her briefly and gave her a weak smile before turning back to the ocean. "It's not like it's not true anyway…" He added.

She stopped crying and looked up at him. He turned to her too. "So, your dad… did he, uh…" She couldn't say the words…

"Kill himself?" He finished for her. She gave him a weak nod back. "Yeah he did" He threw the bottle away. "I don't really know why I even cared she said it…"

"Have you… talked about it?" She asked. She was trying to be helpful, to be there for him but she didn't know what to say. It wasn't like she had any experience in this or something.

"Not really" He said. "Actually, today was the first time I said anything about him in over a year" He said softly.

"Why?" She asked. She looked away from him and stopped at the vodka bottle he had thrown away. He followed her gaze.

"I didn't drink it" He said, referring to the bottle. "Well I started but then realize it wouldn't help anything so I spilled it." He didn't know why he was defending himself to her. He barely even knew her. "And my dad… he, uh… he did it on my birthday. I don't know why I care on what day he did it but I do"

"Oh" Was all she could say. "Were you close?" She asked. She decided to try to talk to him about it. She thought it might help and while he was already talking about it wouldn't hurt talking some more.

"Yeah…We were really close actually" He said. "We were so alike so it was pretty easy for us to relate" He moved his gaze back to the ocean. "It had been a nice day so far…my birthday I mean… My dad had woken me up by spilling a buck of water over my bed, not that that's a good way of waking up or anything but I don't know… we just… laughed" He said, getting lost in thought. "Then he gave me this… cake, if you can call it that. He really can't cook or bake but he always baked be a cake on every birthday that tasted so bad… But somehow we always seemed to finish it" He looked back at her. "I know it probably seems really stupid but it was just how we were…" He looked away again. "Well, then I went to school and I got this news and was pretty excited about them… and I knew my dad was going to love them too, but when I got home I… I didn't hear anything but I knew he was home so I looked everywhere for him… I didn't find him but then I heard the car in the garage… I thought he'd just got home or something so I waited for him in the kitchen but he never got in…. So I… I went into the garage and saw the car…. filled with smoke." He told her. He didn't know why he was telling her this. Maybe it was the slight alcohol he drank talking but the main reason was that he was just tired of being angry with his father. He wanted some peace.

"Oh my god!" Was all she could say. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't think he'd tell her this much but she was happy he did.

"I ran over to the car and opened the door and there he was, already passed out. I panicked… didn't know what to do… but I somehow managed to move him to the house and looked for a pulse… I didn't find any so I immediately called 911 and they called him dead on the spot" He finished. You could hear the sadness in his voice. But then his voice turned from sadness to slight hatred. "And ever since then I've hated him"

She was speechless. She had no idea what she was supposed to say. Or was she supposed to say anything? She couldn't believe what he went through. Like it wasn't bad enough that he had lost his father but he was the one who found him. She didn't know what she'd do if she'd one day find her dad dead. She didn't even want to think about it.

"Then I saw this note in his pocket addressing me…" He said as he laughed slightly. "Can you believe it? A freaking note?"

"What'd it say?" She asked him. She didn't know why she'd asked it. It was probably something personal but she had to say something.

"I didn't read it" He told her. "He probably wanted me to read it and I pretty much did everything he didn't want me to do and stopped doing things he liked me doing"

"Such as?"

"Like soccer… He's a big soccer fan and loved that I played it… so I quit" He said. "And I started hanging with my brother and his friends… Don't get me wrong, Trey's a good guy but he hung out with the wrong crowd... Anyway, I started drinking hard… which led to drugs… which led to me almost killing myself a month ago… Which is the reason why I'm here" He finished. He looked back at her. "Look, I haven't told anyone that before… and I don't really know why I just told you…"

"I can keep a secret" She told him. She reached out for his hand and took it in her hands. She didn't know why she just did that but it gave her comfort. "I almost killed myself too" She told him. He looked at her. "I was in Mexico last year and my uh, ex-boyfriend… he uh… I caught him with another girl… And the night before I'd gotten a call from my dad telling me that he and my mom were divorcing… So I kind of jus felt like my world was falling apart… I ended up in some bar with pain killers and a shot. My head was killing me so I took too many pills and swallowed them down with the shot… And then I passed out in some alley near the bar" She finished. She looked over at him and saw him looking at her. She stared into his eyes and saw… comfort. "I haven't told anyone about that"

"I can keep a secret" He said.

She smiled at him. "Come on, it's getting cold… Let's go to your grandmother's" She said standing up and pulling him up with her. He just gave her a weak smile back and followed her to her car.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A week had passed since that night on the beach and Ryan hadn't spoken to Marissa since then. It was not like he was ignoring her or anything, he'd just been thinking about everything he had told her…and she had just started school again.

Since Ryan was taking some time off school to be here, his grandmother had talked to Kirsten and they had decided that he would be going to her once a day from Monday to Friday. His sessions hadn't started all that well but she hadn't pushed him. She had just asked him what his favorite movies were and had told her some of her own favorites. Just simple things like that. And the next day he still wasn't ready to talk about it again so they had again just talked about more simple things. She told him she had a son his age too. His appointments had all gone like that and today, Friday, he thought he was finally ready to talk about something a little more personal.

Mrs. Cohen had never pressured him into talking about it… She thought that that wouldn't help and that he'd talk when he was ready. She wanted to earn his trust first.

His grandmother had asked him to go to Harbor but Ryan told her it would be too much trouble 'cause he wouldn't be staying there for that long so she had suggested he'd get a job. He didn't do anything in the day except go to his therapy sessions and his occasional walks so he could just as get a job.

He had applied in a few places but had gotten turned down on the spot in them all. Some were nice enough to say that they were looking for someone more experienced while other just turned him down because he didn't have a clean slate. But he was going to try a few more places after his therapy session that day.

* * *

He had just finished therapy for the week. That session had went really well. He hadn't rally talked about his main issue yet though but he had talked about his brother and mother along with a little details on Theresa and his father.

Kirsten though he had gotten quite far. There were some who hadn't brought up their main issue until after weeks but maybe they just didn't want to be helped. But Ryan did.

He walked out of her room and walked by the waiting area, not even looking at the people who were waiting there.

"Ryan!" He heard being called. He stopped and looked around himself when he saw Marissa.

"Oh.. hey Marissa" He said, stepping a little closer to her. "How are you?" He asked her, trying to be friendly.

"Me? I'm great. But how are you?" She asked him back. "I haven't heard from you in a week…"

"Yeah I'm fine" He said. "I've just been thinking and stuff" He added, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh…okay" She said. "Look, I'm sorry about my mother…If I'd known I'd… well I'm sorry"

He smiled at her. "It's okay" He assured her. "And I'm sorry for how I reacted" He said.

"Are you sorry?!" She asked. "If it'd been me I would've done the same thing" She said, smiling back at him.

He smiled softly and nodded his head.

With that the doors to Kirsten's room opened. "Marissa, you can come in now" She called out to Marissa.

She looked at Ryan. "Looks like I'm next" She said as she stood up. "Do you want to maybe meet up after my appointment?" She asked him.

"Sure" He said.

"Okay, great" She said, smiling back. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll be at your place in like an hour" She said as she turned around and walked into the room.

* * *

An hour and 9 minutes later, to be exact, Marissa arrived at his grandmother's house. She got out of her car, walked up the driveway and knocked softly on the door. A few seconds later the door were opened by Ryan. She smiled at him. "Hey!" She said, happy to see him.

"Hey" He said, shooting her a half-smile. He grabbed his jacket and told his grandmother he was going out and walked out the door.

They walked to her car and got in. She turned to him. "So, where'd you want to go?" She asked. "Or what do you want to do?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I kind of need to get a job… so if you know some place that need people and are willing to hire someone like me…" He said, turning back to her. "that'd be great"

She smiled at him. "I know one place…but I don't know if you'd be interested in it." She said. "What are you looking for?"

"Anything really" He said. "What is it that you have in mind?" He asked.

"The diner" She told him. "I know that they're hiring and the manager is pretty nice so he'll probably give it to you"

"Don't you work at the diner?" He asked.

"Yeah…like every other weekend or so" She said. "But if you don't want to work there because I do that's okay"

"No… yeah I'd like to try" He said as he smiled at her. "Thanks"

She smiled back at him. "You're welcome" She said as she started her car and drove off to the diner.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

When they arrived at the diner Marissa had volunteered to go and talk to her boss for him, but he didn't want to get the job just because Marissa had convinced her boss to give it to him. He didn't want to get it by charity.

Not longer then two minutes later he walked back out of the diner and to her car. "What, why aren't you inside?" She asked him, confused as to why he came back out that soon. "Wasn't he around?" She continued to ask.

"Yeah, he was" Ryan said. "He just—" He started when Marissa cut him off.

"Didn't give you the job" She finished for him. "I can't believe him. We need more staff around and he usually doesn't care about if we have a clean sleet or not. I mean, it's not like he does" She said. "I should go in and talk to him"

"What, no" Ryan stopped her.

"Yes Ryan. He isn't being fair to you—" She started. Now it was Ryan's time to cut her off.

"Marissa, he gave me the job. I start next Monday" He said.

"Wait, what?" She said, confused. "What do you mean, then why were you only in there for a minute?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I asked for the job and he just looked at me and said yes" He said. "I told him that I'd had a few 'run in's with the police but he didn't care." He added. "And he was busy so I just left before he could change his mind"

"Oh" She said, laughing awkwardly. "I thought he'd turn you down or something" She said. "So, you start Monday, right? And will you be working all days of the week? What will be your working hours?" She rambled on.

He laughed a little. "Yes I start Monday, and no, I won't be working on weekends, unless he needs me to. And I work from 7 to 2" He told her. "Then I've got therapy at 3"

"Okay, that's cool" He said. "I only work every other weekend and usually only in the evening so I guess we won't be working together then" She said, putting on a sad look.

He smiled at her. "Then you won't be there to laugh at me when I screw something up"

"Don't worry about that 'cause I'll just come more often as a customer and specially ask for you to serve me" She said smirking at him.

"You're so nice to me" He said, shooting her a half smile.

She smiled back at him. God how she loved that smile. She looked in his eyes and saw that he was doing the same. She glanced down at his lips and back to his eyes. She started leaning in a little.

He saw her starting to lean in closer and his smile faded off his face. When they were only inches apart he heard her cell phone start to ring.

She moved away from him and looked for her cell in her purse. _"Great"_ She thought to herself. When she finally found her phone she looked at the id and answered. "Hey dad"

While she continued to talk to her dad, Ryan looked out of the window awkwardly. He tried not to listen in to her conversation but it was hard as she was sitting this close to him.

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Love you, bye" He said as she hung up on the phone. She looked over at Ryan. "I'm sorry about that" She said. "It was my dad…he wants to tell me something" She said.

He nodded his head. "Okay" He said.

"So I'm gonna go over there now" She said. "Do you want to come with me? I understand if you don't after everything with my mom but I can promise you that my dad's a lot nicer" She smiled.

"It's okay" He said. "But you probably want to talk to him alone—"

"No, I want you to meet my dad. He's like my best friend" She told him.

"Okay" He said unsure. He had never met any girl's parents before, other than Theresa's, and now he was about to meet her dad. He'd already met her mom and it hadn't gone that good_. "But you're just friends, so you're just meeting you're friend's father_" He assured himself.

"Okay, great" She said excited as she started to drive to her dads little apartment.

A few minutes later they got to his apartment building and got out of the car. "Are you sure you don't want me to wait in the car?" Ryan asked her as they were about to go through the front door of the building.

"Yes, I want you to meet my dad" She said. They walked down the hall and when they got to his apartment she opened the door and called for his father. "Dad?" They both walked in and a few seconds later Jimmy walked down the stairs.

"Hey kiddo" He said as he walked over to her and embraced her in a hug.

"Hey dad" She said, hugging him back.

He pulled away from the hug and looked at the boy that stood there awkwardly by the door. "Hey, I'm Jimmy" He said to the boy.

Ryan walked closer to them and introduced him for her dad. "Ryan" He said as he stuck out his hand which he took.

Jimmy turned to Marissa and saw that she had gone to the fridge. She took out a bottled water. "Dad, you want anything to drink? Ryan?" She said as she turned around to face them.

"No, I'm good" Ryan said.

"Yeah, me too" Jimmy told her.

"Okay" She said as she walked over to the dining table and sat down. "So dad, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked him.

He looked at Ryan and to Marissa before saying anything.

Ryan saw that and said to him, "I can leave if you want"

"No, it's just… you look so familiar" He said. "What did you say your last name was?" He asked.

Marissa saw the tensed look on Ryan's face. She wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about it so she decided to help him out. "Dad, he didn't tell you his last name" She said. "But what did you have to tell me?"

Ryan smiled thankfully at Marissa. "It's okay" He then turned to Jimmy. "It's Atwood"

"You're Jack's son" He said. Ryan just nodded. "What are you doing in Newport? Visiting your grandmother?" He asked him.

"Yeah, something like that." He said. "I'll be staying with her for a while"

"Uhm, dad" She called out. "Over here" She said, waving her hand which made Ryan laugh.

"Yes, Marissa?" Jimmy said, his attention all on her now.

"You called me 'cause you needed to talk to me about something and you're just talking to Ryan" She said, putting on a hurt expression.

Jimmy laughed slightly and walked over to her and sat down in the chair opposite her. "You remember when I told you I might get promoted?" He said.

"No," She said not knowing, and with her reply Ryan laughed slightly. "but you did? That's awesome." She finished not noticing Ryan laughing.

"I feel so loved. My own daughter doesn't even listen to me" Jimmy joked.

Marissa glared at her father. "But, as good new that that is, was that the only thing you were going to tell me?" She asked him.

"No," He started. "but if I'm boring you, you can always just leave. I guess I can just wait a day or two to tell you" He finished knowing how impatient she was.

"No, it's okay. You can tell me now" She said, trying to sound like she didn't care about what he had to say.

Jimmy smiled at his daughter. "Okay, so I got a promotion at work—"

"Yeah, you already told me that" Marissa cut in, impatiently.

Jimmy just shook his head. "Like I was saying, I got a promotion at work and I was thinking about buying a bigger place, and I was wondering if you wanted to help me choose one?" He asked his daughter.

Marissa face lit up immediately. "A new house?!" She exclaimed. "And you want me to help you find one. I love buying houses!" She said with a bright smile on her face.

"You do?" Jimmy asked and Marissa just nodded her head. "Since when?"

"Since now" She said. "And since mom and Caleb are divorcing, I can move in with you!!"

Ryan looked confused at Marissa as if asking why she could only move in with him if they were divorcing.

"Oh, Caleb blackmailed me into living with them" She told him like it was the most normal thing. She then turned to her father. "But we won't be moving out of Newport, will we?"

"I thought you didn't like Newport" Jimmy said smiling at her and glancing looks between Ryan and Marissa.

"What gives you that idea?" Marissa asked.

He smiled. "No, we won't be moving out of Newport. I've got my job here" He assured her. "But are you sure your mother would let you move in with me?" He asked.

"Who cares what she thinks" She said. "I don't want to live with her anymore" She looked at his father. "So, how you already checked some out?" She asked her father.

"Yeah, I have some that I liked saved in the computer…" He said. "…but why don't you just check them out later" He said, looking in Ryan's direction.

"No it's okay" Ryan said. "I really should go anyway. It was nice to meet you"

"Well, technically you didn't just meet me today, but the pleasure was mine" He told the younger man.

"Ryan, it's okay. I can check them out later…" Marissa told Ryan.

"No, I should go back and tell my grandmother I got a job so she'll stop worrying" He said, shooting her a smile. "I'll see you later" He said as he walked to the door.

"Hey Ryan?" Jimmy called out, stopping him in his tracks. Ryan turned around and waited for him to say something else. "What do you think about coming over for dinner with us tonight?" He asked him.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll be able to make it" He said.

"Please?" Marissa pouted.

Ryan smiled at her. How could he turn her down when she looked that adorable? "Sure. What time do you want me here?" He asked them.

Marissa smiled back at him and looked at her father, waiting for him to answer his question.

"Six will be good" He answered him.

"Okay. So see you at six" Ryan said as he opened the door.

"Ryan, you don't want me to drive you home?" Marissa asked.

"Nah, I'll walk. It's not far anyway" He said as he stepped outside the apartment. "Bye" He said as he closed the door.

Jimmy turned to Marissa and smiled. "So, when I asked him to dinner he said no but when you did he said yes?" He teased her.

"Maybe because he didn't want you asking him questions about his dad" She pointed out. "And besides, who can turn me down?" She smirked at him.

He laughed a little. "You think quite highly about yourself" He said. "But he doesn't like talking about his father?" He asked her.

"No" She told him. "He actually only just started talking about it like a week ago" She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Jimmy just nodded his head. "So, where did you guys meet?" He asked his daughter.

"What's with the questions dad, please" She said which got Jimmy to laugh. "Fine. I met him first in the diner. It was the first night he was here and I was working…"

"And he asked you out then?"

"What? We're just friends" She assured him. "And no, I met him again in therapy as he was about to bail…so I did it with him, showed him around town and stuff"

Jimmy smiled. Looking at them earlier you could see that they obviously liked each other. "Speaking of therapy, how is it?"

"It's fine I guess…" She told him. "But can we please just go check out those houses?"

He laughed slightly and said, "Sure"


End file.
